1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the art of forming a stack of crop material bales and, more particularly, is concerned with means on a bale wagon for providing improved adjustability of sideboard structures along the sides of a load bed of the bale wagon in order that formation of stacks having different widths may be accommodated on the load bed.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
It is accepted present day practice to form bales of crop material such as hay or the like into stacks through the employment of an automatic bale wagon.
One type of bale wagon which has achieved widespread commercial acceptance is the automatic bale wagon which employes the three table concept, as originally illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,848,127 to G. E. Grey.
The Grey bale wagon includes a transversely-mounted first table normally disposed in a generally horizontal position in which it successively receives bales from a bale loader or pickup positioned on the wagon adjacent one end of the first table and accumulates a predetermined number of bales at a time, ordinarily two or three, being arranged end-to-end in a row, a second table normally disposed in a generally horizontal position rearwardly of and above the first table in which it successively receives the row of bales from the first table when the latter is pivoted upwardly and rearwardly approximately 90.degree. and accumulates the rows of bales until a full tier of bales has been formed thereon, and a third table or load bed normally disposed in a generally horizontal position rearwardly of and above the second table in which it successively receives the tiers of bales from the second table when the latter is pivoted upwardly and rearwardly approximately 90.degree. and accumulates the tiers standing vertically on the load bed until a full stack of bales has been formed thereon. Once the stack has been accumulated on the load bed, it may be unloaded by pivoting the load bed upwardly and rearwardly approximately 90.degree. and depositing the stack on the ground or the like with the bales as previously accumulated into the tiers thereof on the second table of the wagon now forming the horizontal layers of bales in the stack now standing on the ground.
To a significant degree, the efficient stack forming operation of the Grey bale wagon and specifically the quality of the stack formed thereby in terms of its ability to stand over long periods of time and to be retrieved depends upon providing adequate front, rear and side stabilization for the vertical tiers of the stack while standing on the load bed.
The rear end of the stack on the load bed is supported by a fore-and-aft movable rolling rack which contacts the rear end of the rearmost one of the vertically standing tiers of the stack. The opposite sides of the stack are respectively supported by sideboard structures which extend along respective opposite sides of the load bed and contact respective opposite sides of the stack. The front end of the stack is stabilized against tipping forwardly by a tine arch assembly which is located above and engages the top horizontal row of bales in the forwardmost one of the tiers of the stack.
The sideboard structures are mounted so that each may be moved toward and away from its respective side of the load bed to change the spacing between the structures in order that the formation of stacks having different widths may be accommodated on the load bed. Heretofore, the adjustable mounting assembly for the sideboard structures has included an upstanding wing member disposed adjacent the forward end of the load bed at each opposite side thereof. The sideboard structures are respectively mounted at their forward ends to the respective wing members. Each of the wing members have inwardly extending tubular bars at its upper and lower ends which are telescopibly received within respective opposite ends of a corresponding upper transverse support tube which also mounts the aforementioned tine arch assembly and a corresponding lower transverse support tube mounted on the frame of the bale wagon below the front end of the load bed.
In order to fix the spacing between the sideboard structures at a given dimension, set screws are utilized to secure each of the respective tubular bars of the wing members at a desired telescoped position within its corresponding one of the ends of the upper and lower support tubes. Accordingly, to adjust or change the spacing between the sideboard structures, the set screws must first be loosened and then the wing members moved either toward or away from the load bed sides depending upon the desired dimension of the new spacing. Once the sideboard structures have been adjusted to the new spacing, the set screws are re-tightened.
While the lower end of each wing member may be adjusted by the operator standing on the ground, first, at one side of the load bed and, next, at the opposite side thereof, adjustment of the upper end of each wing member may only be carried out by the operator climbing up to each of the opposite ends of the upper support tube. This requirement has proven to be very inconvenient and time-consuming for the operator. Furthermore, there is no way that the operator alone can adjust the upper and lower ends of one wing member simultaneously. Therefore, the operator has to move the upper and lower ends individually which frequently causes binding within the telescoping slidable connections between the wing member and the upper and lower support tubes.